Culled from a series of tweets by the Hoarse Whisperer:
I understand narcissistic personality disorder like the back of my hand. Trump is as familiar as an old movie, so let me share some intel. People with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) seem erratic but they're actually ultra-predictable. They are simple machines. There are only two driving impulses: 1) Avoid shame and 2) Collect adoration and esteem. That's it. There is no other priority or concern. Trump will do anything humanly possible to try to avoid being publicly shamed/diminished in others' eyes. It's an impulse he can't control. Take Russia/Putin. If Trump were to acknowledge Russia interfered, he'd be admitting he was less worthy of the presidency. Donald Trump would literally sell out his entire family and the country as well to avoid acknowledging that he didn't deserve the office. He is pathologically incapable of doing anything which admits to the world his worst internal fear: he's unworthy of being seen as special. Now, he has no choice on how he has to play this. He HAS to actually make Putin look worthy of partnership. He has to make the shameful thing, look unshameful somehow. He has to make shameful hacking and potential collusion somehow seem smart or purposeful or dignified. It cannot be done. It makes no logical sense. It will fall apart and as it does, Trump's behavior and lying will get more outlandish. But make no mistake, Donald Trump is clinically incapable of doing anything other than what he is doing: trying to avoid the shame of being discovered to be illegitimate and unworthy of public respect. He has an uncontrollable compulsion to avoid that awful truth. No matter how absurd each new action or lie sounds, he'll throw even his own family under the bus until there is no way out and then he will first explode on everyone and everything around him when he realizes there is no escape. It will be the crazy tweetstorm to end all tweetstorms and then he'll either a) implode in a miserable ball of self-loathing and flee or concoct some attempt at a face-saving exit, claiming he's too good for the job or that he's protesting the "deep state." It'll be transparent bullshit that none but the most loco Trumpers believe but he will take it to the grave, swearing it's true. The key thing to remember in watching Trump is that there are literally only two things going on in his mind at all times: 1) Fight to the death to avoid being seen as shameful or underserving of public adoration 2) Doing whatever it takes to make the people right in front of him think he's powerful, important and special. That's it. Donald Trump is an empty shell. You need do no more than ask "what shame is he trying to avoid?" and you'll understand his every move.